Single Parenting With A Stranger For A Dad
by TemperanceBooth1
Summary: Anna is having a baby at 15 years old and Gabriel gets strangely caught in the middle.
1. Strangely Caught In The Middle

In Vaseria, Transylvania, there lived a royal gypsy family with the last name Valerious. There was the king, Boris, the queen, Annabelle, the prince, Velken, and the princess, Anna. It's May 2, 1884 and Anna is in labor at seven months gestation. Seven months ago, she was being courted by a prince from Italy. They were together for a year and he decided to propose. That night, they made love which resulted in the pregnancy as he did not use protection. Two weeks later when Anna found out, she told her betrothed and he freaked out on her. Saying it was her fault and he wanted no part in it. So he broke off the engagement and went back to his home in Italy. So now we are here seven months later with Anna in premature labor about to become a single mother.

"Ow! I want this baby OUT!" Anna screamed as another contraction hit.

"Calm down, My Darling. You're doing just fine." Her mother Annabelle replied as she wiped her forehead with a cool, wet towel.

* * *

><p>Boris was getting worried and ran outside to get some air as he saw a boy about Anna's age walking into the house next door. Thinking quickly, he ran over and grabbed the boy's arm. The boy turned around. "Can I help you?"<p>

"What's your name?"

"Gabriel Van Helsing. What's yours?"

"Boris Valerious. I'm the king here."

"It's nice to meet you, Your Majesty. Is there something I can help you with?"

"My daughter, Princess Anna is having a baby and she's in premature labor. The doctor won't let me in to see her because I'm direct family. He said only the father of the baby and her mother can go in. But the father of her baby left her and went home as soon as she found out she was pregnant. However, I couldn't tell the doctor that and I need a man around her age to go in and help her."

"I'm fifteen."

"You're perfect then." Boris said and dragged Gabriel over and into the manor and up the stairs to Anna's room where Anna screamed again.

Stopping at the bedroom door, Boris looked at Gabriel and nodded. Gabriel slowly opened the door and the doctor along with Annabelle and Anna all looked at him. "Anna?" He asked cautiously.

"Your HERE!" She said as excitedly as she could. "Get over here and help me! You're the one that DID this to ME!" She then demanded.

Gabriel walked in closing the door behind him and walked over to the bed grabbing her hand. "I'm here, My Love." He said knowing this was all just a hoax for the doctor to believe.

Annabelle smiled gratefully at the young man and handed him the cloth to cool Anna down a bit. She then walked out the bedroom door and looked at her husband. "Who is that wonderful young man?"

"His name is Gabriel Van Helsing. He's moving in next door in that small hut. I caught him going in when I went out to get some fresh air. He's an emancipated minor. He's fifteen and as soon as we introduced ourselves, he asked me if he could help me with anything. So I quickly told him about our situation and then dragged him in here. He's perfect for this."

"AAAAAHHHHH!" Came from inside the room.

"She seems to be in less pain with him here. I think you might be right, My Love."


	2. Birth and Talking

Inside the bedroom, Gabriel was sitting on the bed next to Anna holding her hand while cooling her forehead off with the cloth. "OOOOWWWW! YOU DID THIS TO ME!"

Gabriel bent down and kissed the tip of her nose. "I know, Love. I'm sorry."

The doctor checked her. "It's time, Anna. On the next contraction, I need you to take a deep breath in and hold it, curl your body forward with your chin tucked down, and push as hard as you can."

And she did, squeezing Gabriel's hand along with it. "OOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWW! GET IT OUT!"

"BEAUTIFUL!" The doctor said. "Again."

Again, Anna pushed with all her might, doing the same as the last. "AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

"GREAT job, Anna. I see the head."

Gabriel bent down and whispered in her ear that only she could hear. "My name's Gabriel Van Helsing by the way."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" She screamed again pushing.

He kissed her sweaty forehead not caring and half smiled. "You're doing beautifully, Darling."

Anna pushed again. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

"WHAAA! WHAAA!" Came the sudden wail of a baby's cry.

The doctor lifted the baby up and layed it on her stomach. "Congratulations, Anna. It's a girl."

Anna held her baby close as she started catching her breath again. She looked up and Gabriel had tears streaming down his face smiling big. She smiled back and looked at her daughter again. "Alba. Her name is Alba Janine Van Helsing"

Gabriel stopped wiping his tears and looked at her surprised while the doctor wrote the name down on the birth certificate. "What?"

Anna looked up and smiled. "I hope you don't mind. It's just... the way you looked at her and everything..."

"I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything, Gabriel. I want to. As a thank you." She said the last part softly that only he could hear.

Gabriel smiled as the doctor cut the umbilical cord and quickly did the necessary check-ups on Baby Alba. The doctor handed her back to Anna and smiled. "You just need to sign your names as the mother and father on the birth certificate. I'll be back in six weeks to check how you're doing."

"Thank you." Anna replied. The doctor nodded and quickly gathered his things and left.

* * *

><p>Three minutes later, Gabriel stopped watching Anna with Alba and got up to leave. Feeling the bed move, Anna looked at him. "Where are you going?"<p>

"I've done my duty here. It was nice meeting you and Congratulations." He kissed Alba's forehead and left.

Anna sighed and decided to get up and change into dry clothes. She quickly changed and then put a diaper and clothes on Alba before picking her up. She walked out of the room and down the stairs to the den where Velken and her parents were waiting for her. "Anna, My Darling Daughter. What is it?" Annabelle asked noticing the vague expression on her face.

She ignored her and turned to face her father. "Papa?"

"Yes?"

"Do you know where Gabriel lives?"

"He just moved in next door in the little hut. Why?"

Anna said nothing and walked out the door. She walked over to the small hut and knocked on the door. After a minute, the door opened to reveal Gabriel. "Anna? What are you doing here? I don't mean that as rude. I'm just confused."

"We need to talk."

"About what?"

"Lots of things."

"What kind of things? I just met you."

"Everything. Please?"

Gabriel just nodded and led her inside to what would be considered the hut's den. Anna sat down in a chair and Gabriel sat across from her on the sofa. "So what did you want to talk about exactly?"

Alba was playing with her mother's fingers and Anna sighed. "I guess I should start with why you helped me."

"Your father. He explained your situation and after we introduced ourselves, I felt the need to help. So I just did. But the result wasn't what I expected."

"What do you mean?"

"I felt something spark between us when I first touched your hand to take it. Then Alba was delivered and it was the most beautiful thing I ever saw. It was also the first time in my life I ever cried."

"It was? You never cried before?"

Gabriel shook his head. "No. And I don't know why. I can't remember anything that happened except for the past two years and my name."

"Is that why you're emancipated?"

"Yes. But that's only part of it. I work for these people that send me out to rid the world of evil creatures. That's why I'm here. I'm supposed to help you rid of Dracula. I knew who your father was when I saw him. You, your mother, and your brother as well. But I couldn't make them suspicious about me. So I pretended not to know them."

"Why the permanent residence?"

"My boss wants me stationed here. I have a friend that also works with me kind of. He's moving in with me. He'll be here tomorrow."

"Why station you in Transylvania?"

"My boss said it's the most prone to getting attacked by creatures. Even after we get rid of Dracula."

"Then I'm glad you're here. Changing the subject, I felt something too. When you touched me I mean."

That surprised him. "You did?"

Anna nodded and got up handing Alba who started to fuss over to him. She grabbed his face and kissed him.


	3. Date? and Attacked

Gabriel kissed her back as best he could so he didn't squash Alba between them. After a minute, he pulled away. "Anything?"

"Yeah. I definitely like you. A LOT. You?"

"Same."

Anna smiled and sat down next to him. "So what now?"

"How would you like to go on a date?"

"Now?"

Gabriel chuckled. "No. Saturday night."

"Oh. I'd love to. But what about Alba?"

"She's a sweetheart. She won't be a bother. Just bring her with us."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. I'd be happy to have her with us on a date."

"Alright." She said then looked at the time. "OH!"

"What?"

She looked at him and took Alba. "It's late. I have to go. See you tomorrow?" She asked getting up.

"Of course." He said and walked her to the door.

Anna turned around and pecked his lips. "What time?"

"I'm not sure. I'll come over as soon as I get up and dressed for the day."

"Ok." She said with a smile and went over and inside the manor.

* * *

><p>As Anna walked into the den with a huge smile on her face, Boris looked up. "What's with that smile, Anna?"<p>

Anna snapped out of her daydream and looked at her father. "What?"

"I said, what's with that smile? I haven't seen you smile like that since... well, you know who proposed."

"Lets just say, Gabriel is about to become a BIG part of our lives. Mine and Alba's especially."

"Oh?" He questioned raising an eyebrow.

Anna giggled. "He's gonna be the adoptive father of Alba. That and we're together."

"Together? But you just met him a few hours ago."

"So? You're the one that was arranging me with you know who and we were together before WE even knew we were together. My unhappiness is YOUR fault. Now Gabriel is going to fix that and he's already started. We're going on a date Saturday night and he wants Alba to come with us."

Boris sighed. "Alright. I guess it's ok with me as long as he makes you happy. That's all I ever wanted for you. Happiness."

"Thank you, Papa. Love you."

"Love you too, Hunny. Nite."

"Good nite, Papa." She said heading up to her room.

* * *

><p>The next day, Gabriel spent his time with Anna and Alba. Everything was going great. Now it's that night and Anna had just fed Alba and put her in her cradle. Alba moved a little at the change from mother's arms to a cradle mattress. Anna smiled and kissed her forehead. "Good nite, Beautiful." She whispered and quickly changed into a nightgown. She got in be and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. And her last thought was of the sexy, handsome man next door.<p>

* * *

><p>It's now 3:00 a.m. and there's a crash in the balcony window of Anna's room. Anna stirs, but does not wake. A minute later, there's a wailing cry coming from the cradle. Anna wakes and looks over to see one of Dracula's brides trying to steal her daughter. "Marishka!"<p>

Marishka turned around and smirked. "Well, well, well... look who's awake. I guess I'll just kill her instead." She said and turned to kill the most innocent, vulnerable thing available. Alba.

However, Anna grabbed a knife from under her pillow and threw it at Marishka's back. Marisha backed into a corner screaming in pain. Anna jumped up, grabbed Alba from her cradle blanket and all, and rushed down and out the manor. She ran to Gabriel's and knocked furiously. Thirty seconds later, the door opened and Gabriel looked at her in worry seeing the scared look on her face. "What's wrong, Anna?"

Anna had tears running down her cheeks at this point. "We were attacked." She croaked.

Gabriel didn't hesitate to let her in and she quickly sat on the sofa in the den trying to calm a still crying Alba. Gabriel walked over to her and sat down next to her. "Tell me what happened?"

Anna cuddled into his side and sniffled, stopping her tears as best she could. "I just fed and put Alba to bed at midnight. I changed and crawled into bed myself. I fell asleep thinking of you. It's three a.m. and the next thing I know, Alba's screaming her head off scared to death. I woke up and found Dracula's youngest bride Marishka trying to steal her. I always sleep with my dagger under my pillow and so I grabbed it and threw it at Marishka's back. It got her just far enough away from Alba and the pain kept her distracted just long enough for me to jump up, grab Alba, and run here. It was the safest place I could think of."

Gabriel pulled her to him and kissed her temple. "You did the right thing. But I'm afraid it's just too dangerous to keep Alba in Transylvania. The best place for her to be right now is where I came from. Vatican City, Rome. The church will be the safest place for her right now until we can rid of Dracula."

"But she can't grow up without me."

"She won't. But that means you must stay there with her. I'll come back and help your parents rid of the vampires. But you need to stay with your daughter. In Rome."

"When do we leave?" She asked without hesitation.

"Immediately." He said and ran to the room to shake his friend awake. "CARL!"

Carl groaned and woke up. "What? What's going on?"

"We need to get Anna and the baby to THE church in Rome."

"Why?"

"They were attacked. And the sooner you get your butt out of bed, the sooner we can skedaddle."

Carl groaned again and got up. "Fine." He quickly dressed and they got Anna who was holding a now sleeping Alba in her arms and left straight for Rome.


End file.
